Historically, Apple has kept the pricing of AirPods 3 rock-solid with virtually no meaningful discounts appearing anywhere. That changes this Sunday with a back-to-back 44% price drop on the brand-new AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation.
You won’t find this on the Apple website, but Amazon is shifting brand-new units for Black Friday at an all-time low of $99, down from that usual $179 price tag. The non-ANC version drops to $79 from $129, but given how aggressive this discount is, the ANC model makes far more sense.
The H2 Chip Changes Everything
Apple’s H2 chip powers every advanced feature in these earbuds, from active noise cancellation to computational audio processing. The chip analyzes outside noise 48,000 times per second and generates inverse sound waves to cancel the unwanted sounds before reaching your ears. You can enjoy your favorite music without cranking up the volume to potentially dangerous levels on noisy commutes or airplanes.
Adaptive audio effortlessly fuses active noise cancellation with transparency mode, depending on your environment. It automatically changes the balance between blocking outside noise and letting environmental sounds through. You get maximum isolation when you need to focus, while the earbuds let traffic noise through when you’re crossing streets. Conversation awareness detects the minute you start talking to someone nearby and automatically lowers your music volume while amplifying voices.
Transparency mode allows you to hear your surroundings precisely as they sound in real life. The external microphones pick up the environmental audio and play it through the speakers so well that you almost forget you’re wearing earbuds. You can converse with people, hear the announcements, and be aware of your surroundings without having to take the AirPods out of your ears.
Voice isolation uses advanced computational audio to make your voice clearer during calls in loud environments, successfully isolating your voice from ambient noise, traffic, wind, or crowded spaces. The person at the other end will hear you even when calling from a busy street corner or coffee shop.
The redesigned shape fits a greater variety of ear types comfortably than prior generations of AirPods. Apple shortened the stem and refined the contour, after scanning thousands of ears, to achieve a universal fit. They remain stable through workouts, during commutes and through head movements without feeling as if they are on the verge of falling out.
Personalized spatial audio allows for a theatre-like listening experience, placing sound all around you in 3D space. Through dynamic head tracking, it shifts the audio field whenever you move your head, making music, movies, and games even more immersive. The feature uses accelerometers and gyroscopes to track the position of your head relative to your device. Instruments and vocals seem to emanate from specific positions in space rather than just left and right channels.
With Siri integration, you can control your music, make calls, or check your schedule completely hands-free, just with “Hey Siri” voice activation. The interactions with Siri take on a new dimension where, to respond to something from Siri, you nod your head for yes or shake it for no, thus keeping your hands totally free. The optical in-ear sensors detect when you are wearing the AirPods and automatically play or pause the audio.
At $99, these ANC AirPods 4 represent flagship features for 44% off of retail. You’re getting H2 chip performance, adaptive audio intelligence, and premium call quality at a price that makes the non-ANC version feel like a compromise.
